Sunlight
by Pooryorick64
Summary: As it turns out, Bella Swan is an unreliable narrator. How do the events following her move to Forks look when seen through different eyes? How will events unfold differently?
1. Preface

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Preface

I had never given much thought to how much I wanted her to die-though I'd had reason enough in the last few months-but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.

All right, to say that I wanted Bella Swan to die was a little extreme. Clearly, her overly dramatic tendencies were beginning to rub off on me. However, it was true that the girl was on my last nerve. Since moving to Forks, she had caused nothing but trouble. Admittedly, not all of it was her fault, but I had to deal with it nonetheless.

"Come on, Bella. You've been acting like a complete zombie for the past few months. It's gotten ridiculous. What's your problem, already?" I asked, perhaps a little too harshly.

She flinched and looked away. "You wouldn't understand...or believe me, for that matter."

I crossed my arms. "Try me."

"Look, Mike-"

"Here. I'll make it easier. How about I guess what's been going on with you since you moved to Forks," I interrupted her.

Bella just stared at me. Her blank expression actually managed to convey a slight skepticism.

"Shortly after moving to Forks, you got involved with Edward Cullen...a vampire," I stated flatly, watching carefully for her reaction.

She gasped. "You knew?"

I rolled my eyes. "Look how quickly you managed to figure it out. Do you honestly think the whole town was completely oblivious?"

Her mouth opened and closed a few times. She was utterly speechless.

I smiled in a friendly way as I sauntered forward, clasping Bella on the shoulder.

"Come on," I said, "you have a lot to learn."


	2. 1 New Girl

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

1. New Girl

I cursed my bad luck as I circled once more around the crowded parking lot. Why was I always so late? Oh right. No one in their right minds would ever mistake me for a morning person. I just hoped I would find a space before class began.

I glared at every car I passed, especially the shiny silver Volvo that I knew belonged to Edward Cullen. Even though it was just a parking spot, I knew he would be positively gleeful if he could know that he had something I wanted. Thinking of him made me grip the steering wheel even tighter.

My frustration was lessened slightly when I saw a gigantic eyesore of a truck parked a little further on. It was bright red and looked like someone should take pity on it and return it to the 50s where it belonged. I wondered if someone here at school had been unlucky enough to be burdened with such a monstrosity or if we actually had a new student-a rarity here in Forks.

I finally found a spot and parked as quickly as I could. I would have to hurry to reach my first class on time, but with the rain starting to pick up that was hardly a bad thing. I locked up my car and headed for the English building. I flung myself into my regular seat next to my friend, Ben, just in time for the bell to ring.

Ben raised his eyebrows at me. "Cutting it close again?"

I shrugged and pulled out my notebook. As I did, I noticed that the class was still very restless. It seemed like everyone was trying to surreptitiously get a good look at something in the back of the room.

"Did I miss something good?" I asked Ben.

"There's a new girl...Isadora or something," Ben answered.

"Ah, that explains the truck." I couldn't help but smirk a little, remembering how ridiculous the thing was.

"You should have seen her drive up in it," Ben chuckled a little.

Before either of us could say anything more, the teacher, Mr. Mason, called the class to order. He spent the next hour lecturing on Wuthering Heights, which was one of the most painfully boring books I had ever been forced to read. The sound of the bell ringing was extremely welcome at the end of class. I packed up my things, and looked up just in time to see Eric talking to the new girl. I didn't get much of a look at her before Eric ushered her out of the room, but I could see that she wasn't very tall and had dark hair. Her head was slightly lowered and her shoulders hunched as if she was trying not to draw attention to herself.

"I'll see you at lunch," Ben called to me as he made his own exit.

I waved at him and walked to my math class. For the rest of the morning, I didn't have any other classes with the new girl, but I heard some people talking about her. Ben had been wrong about her name. It was Isabella, although anyone who called her that would be somewhat brusquely informed that it was "Bella." The general consensus was that she seemed stand-offish, but seeing as it was her first day in a new school, I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt for now.

At lunchtime, I met up with some of my friends-Ben, Tyler, and Lauren-at our usual table. When I sat down, it sounded like Tyler and Lauren were in the middle of one of their debates. They could go on for hours arguing about just about anything. Strangely enough, this appeared to be how they best expressed their deep friendship. I had long ago found, however, that it was best to stay out of their discussions, even when one of them practically demanded me to weigh in.

I caught Ben's eye. He rolled his eyes at our other two friends. He too knew better than to get involved until they cooled down some. As I waited, I looked around the cafeteria. At the next table over, I saw the new girl-Bella-sitting with Jessica. Jessica was talking animatedly, while Bella just picked at her food. After a few minutes, I saw her glance around the roo. She suddenly did a double take. I followed her line of sight and felt my stomach drop.

"That's her, isn't it?" Lauren asked suddenly.

I jumped. "Yeah. Look's like she's noticed the Cullens."

Everyone at our table turned to look in that direction.

"Not good," Tyler commented.

"Jessica will fill her head with the wrong ideas, I'm sure," Lauren sighed.

"Do you think Bella will, you know, try to talk to them?" I asked, feeling slightly worried. For her own good, she needed to stay away from that family. If you could call that a family.

"Don't worry about anything just yet," Ben reassured. He always seemed to have the most level head out of the four of us, "We'll all keep an eye on her. Maybe we can try to steer her away from them. Without letting anything important slip, of course."

"She's in my English class, at least," I said, "If I don't see her sooner, I'll introduce myself then."

Lauren rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to babysit her just because she's new here. She can either figure it out like some of us did, or remain clueless like the rest."

"I'm just worried about her safety," I defended, "She wasn't here when they first arrived."

"He does have a point," Tyler agreed.

Lauren narrowed her eyes at him but didn't say anything for once. The rest of lunch passed without incident. The bell soon rang and I began to head off for biology class. Just outside of the cafeteria, Lauren pulled me aside.

"I already told the others this, but my parents have been on my case lately about schoolwork. So, I need tonight to study. We'll have to reschedule the library session, okay?" she gave me a significant look.

"Thanks for letting me know. Tell me when you know what time we will be meeting again," I replied.

She nodded in acknowledgement and hurried off. I entered my biology class and sat down next to my partner, Sarah. She had wild curly hair and braces, but she was very nice and made a solid lab partner. Although we didn't see each other outside of class often, we had an easy camaraderie during lab periods.

"Hi, Mike," she greeted.

"Hey, Sarah. Were you able to type up last week's lab report?" I asked as I pulled out my notebook.

"Of course," she pulled out a neatly typed packet and showed me.

We lapsed into silence. A minute later, Sarah perked up.

"Is that the new girl?"

I glanced up to see Bella talking to Mr. Banner. "That's her."

Sarah made a face. "I feel bad for her. You do realize who she is going to have to be lab partners with, right?"

I felt my blood go cold. With horror, I turned to look at the only table that had one occupant. Bella would have to sit next to Edward Cullen every day in biology. I suppressed a groan. It was now vitally important that I talked to her as soon as possible.

Bella sat next to Cullen and I saw him go stiff. Every so often during the lecture, I glanced in their direction. Cullen didn't relax, and a few times, I caught him giving Bella a death stare. It wasn't good. Not good at all.

When the bell finally rang, I let out a sigh of relief. Sarah smiled at me. "That eager for the end of the day, huh?"

I smiled weakly back. "You could say that."

Cullen had already rushed out of the room. In contrast, Bella seemed to be lingering. I saw an opportunity and approached her. It was the first time I got to see her up close. Her dark hair framed a pale face. Her eyes were an unremarkable brown. She wasn't particularly pretty, but it looked like she was one of those girls who could really light up when they smile. Only,she wasn't smiling now. Her expression fell a little too short of friendly.

"Aren't you Isabella Swan?" I asked. Although I already knew she preferred Bella, I wanted to see and judge her reaction for myself.

"Bella," she said curtly with a tight smile.

"I'm Mike," I introduced myself.

"Hi, Mike," she said, not really looking at me. It looked like I would have to carry the conversation.

"Do you need any help finding your next class?"

"I'm headed to the gym, actually. I think I can find it."

Was that sarcasm in her tone? I mentally winced. I was starting to lean towards the camp that found this new girl to be rather stuck up. Then, a thought occurred to me and I perked up.

"That's my next class, too," I said with maybe a little too much enthusiasm. I couldn't help it, though. She practically had to walk with me now, which meant I had a few more minutes to try to talk to her. And if I managed to sprinkle in some Cullen bashing, well, that would make it all the better.

We walked, with me doing most of the talking. It was hard to get more than one syllable out of her. I tried telling her about how I used to live in California, hoping the similar backgrounds would make her feel more friendly towards me. I had no idea if it was actually working. As we entered the gym, I recognized that my time was running out.

"So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that," I asked her.

"Was that the boy I sat next to in biology?" she asked in turn.

"Yes," I said, "He looked like he was in pain or something."

"I don't know. I never spoke to him," she answered. I was thrilled to get such a long response from her.

"He's a weird guy," I said, hoping she might take the hint. Then, for good measure, I added, "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you."

She just smiled and left for the locker rooms without saying goodbye. I didn't know what to make of this new girl, but I had a feeling that trying to stay close to her and keep her out of trouble was not going to be the most pleasant experience of my life.

When the final bell had rung, I walked slowly to my car. I groaned when I saw Edward Cullen waiting for me there.

"What do you want?" I snapped.

He chuckled darkly. "Such an attitude."

I reached into my shirt and pulled out a thin gold chain. I held up the crucifix that glinted on it so that Cullen could see. His jaw tightened. Slight fear flashed in his eyes. I stepped closer, and he stepped away. I carefully maneuvered myself between him and the car.

"That trinket is still only a temporary measure," he sneered at me.

I shrugged. "It works. And someday, I'll find a more permanent solution."

"About that..." he said, smugly examining his fingernails, "You should be careful what you try to do to me and my family."

I snorted. "Your intimidation tactics are quite childish, Cullen. You'll have to do better."

I turned to unlock my car door when he spoke again.

"That new girl-Bella?-is quite attractive, I think."

I froze and turned back to glare at him. "You wouldn't."

He smirked. "I might."

I cursed under my breath. "I'll find a way to warn her off of you."

He chuckled again. "That funny," he paused, coking his head slightly to one side, "Still...you do seem confident. How about a wager?"

"I don't play games with monsters," I snapped.

"I'll give you...a week's head start," he said, as if he hadn't heard what I said.

"I'm not-" but he was already gone. I slammed my car's door shut behind me. I really hated that vampire.


	3. 2 Digging Deeper

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

2. Digging Deeper

That night at dinner, my parents both caught on to my dark mood. My dad waited until we had finished and were cleaning up before he questioned me about it.

"Did something happen at school?" he asked in a neutral tone.

I hardly knew where to start. "There's a new girl."

"I see," his brow furrowed, as if he really didn't see.

"Edward Cullen basically promised me after school that he was going to target her," I continued.

My mom gasped. My dad just looked grim.

"What can we do?" my mom asked, "Have you found anything useful?"

I shook my head. "Besides. Even if we had something right now, he's using her as leverage. He'd probably kill her before we could act."

"This changes nothing," my dad stated, raising a hand to silence my protests, "We will be more careful, of course, and when the time comes, we will find a way to ensure the girl's safety. Now, do you have any idea of what that thing is planning?"

"He's playing with me." I filled my parents in on my conversation with Cullen after school.

"A week's head start?" my mom asked, "Why would he be doing this?"

"It's got something to do with whatever he's been planning here in Forks," my dad sighed, "We're just going in circles. Mike, even if it is playing into his hands, you need to do whatever you can this week to try to befriend..."

"Bella," I supplied.

"Right. And keep up with your research in the meantime."

At the mention of research, my mom glanced at the clock. "Speaking of which, aren't you going to be late?"

"Lauren canceled last minute. She said her parents want her to focus on schoolwork."

My dad looked furious. "They are idiots. Why do they always try to downplay the seriousness of the situation? And with the access to the materials they have; they of all people should understand the importance of our work."

I felt uncomfortable with my dad's rant. He was right, but there was little we could do to change other people's opinions. For my part, I was just glad that Lauren's parents allowed all of us full access to the materials and databases in the Forks Library, which they owned. I stood up and stretched.

"I have homework to do," I announced before heading up to my room.

The next day, I managed, with great effort, to make it to school a little early. My goal was to make sure I got a seat next to Bella during english class. When I saw her enter the room, I quickly waved her down. She took the seat next to me easily enough.

I made what small talk I could before and after class. I even walked her to her next period, much to the annoyance of Eric. I suspected he had a crush on Bella, which would have been great for my cause if Eric was the sort of boy girls usually swooned over. It wasn't that he was a bad guy, but next to Cullen, there was no competition.

Although I still did most of the talking, Bella looked like she was more relaxed than she'd been the day before. I was still struggling to place her personality. She could be clipped and sarcastic, yet she chose to sit next to me and walk with me instead of downright ignoring me. I couldn't help the frustration I felt. Luckily, I had the rest of the morning without her to regroup and strategize on how to open her up.

At lunch, I intercepted Bella once more. "Come sit at my table."

Bella followed without comment. Jessica, who was also with her, practically bounced over and claimed the chair next to mine when I sat down. Some more of Jessica's friends also decided to join us. Our table was noisier than usual, and my friends and I could no longer talk openly, but I thought it wasn't all together unpleasant. Lauren seemed to disagree with me, however. She occasionally shot me glares from within the clump of girls she'd been absorbed into, her eyes accusing me.

From time to time, Bella would glance over at the Cullen's table. I too, had noticed that Edward was conspicuous only by his absence. I tried to study Bella's expression. She was tense, almost afraid, even. Could it be that my job would be easy after all? Was she dreading seeing Edward again?

By the time we were on our way to biology, Bella was looking a little better, although she still wasn't paying much attention to what I was saying. I racked my brains for something else to say.

"Oh, yeah. Some of us are planning a beach trip to the local reservation. It's called La Push. I don't know if you've been there. Anyway, the weather's not exactly the best, but we'll have a bonfire and food and stuff. So, if you want to come..." I trailed off hopefully. I usually didn't chatter this much, but her quietness was starting to get to me.

"Huh?" she jumped slightly as if startled that I was looking for a response, "Oh, right. Sounds fun."

Her words were far from convincing. I opened the door to our classroom for her. As she glanced around the room, I heard her sigh in relief. Edward wasn't here either. It was unnecessary, but I walked her all the way over to her table. I let myself linger there, hoping she might actually say something to me before the bell rang. She didn't. I smiled and walked over to my lab table.

Sarah looked up at me and smiled. "Spending time with Bella?"

"Yeah. I had thought that since I moved here too, she might, I don't know, appreciate me trying to help her adjust," I replied.

"I take it things aren't working out so well," she observed.

I shrugged. "I think she's determined to keep people from getting to know her."

"Don't worry. I'm sure if you're patient she'll realize what a great guy you are," Sarah said.

"I'm not interested in her like that," I informed her.

"Well, she'll still realize what a good friend you are," Sarah amended herself.

Mr. Banner called the class to order, and I studiously took notes for the rest of the period.

I wasn't able to find Bella after gym, but I figured with Edward gone, I could let it slide. His absence was still worrying me, though. I had no way of knowing where he had gone. He would be up to something, for sure. I was relieved when Lauren found me in the parking lot.

"Come over to the library tonight at 6:30," she said.

"Your parents changed their mind?" I asked as I put my bag in my trunk.

She squared her shoulders. "I'm not giving them a choice. Cullen is off somewhere doing who knows what, and we need to be acting as well."

"I'll see you later, then."

At dinner, I told my parents about my day. My dad agreed with my assessments of the situation, and was relieved that Lauren had asked me over to the library. At 6:15, I bade my parents goodbye and headed out to my car.

Lauren had our usual space in the back of the library all set up. Forks library wasn't particularly large or well-stocked-if you were looking for pleasure reading. But in the back, Lauren's parents had a room dedicated to rare books that boasted a collection that any scholar would drool over. Most people in Forks never saw the collection though. Lauren's parents only let serious academics in to use it. In addition, Forks library had access to the best databases through its computer network. While anyone could take advantage of this, few did because they either didn't know about it or simply weren't into heavy duty research.

Ben was already logged into a computer, looking through more historical records. He and Tyler were tasked with finding out as much about the Cullen's past as possible. They had to trace through things like newspaper articles and family records, trying to find even the slightest mention of the Cullens. It wasn't easy because they moved around a lot and changed names. Tyler and Ben often had to employ a lot of guesswork and reading between the lines. I would almost feel bad for them, if I didn't know that there was a worse task to have. Mine.

Lauren looked up at me and pushed a gigantic leather-bound book in my direction. I groaned. It was my day to translate, apparently. The book was a part of the rare collection housed in the library. It was, as far as we could tell, one of the most complete lexicons ever written on the subject of vampires. Once our families had put together the truth about the Cullens, we had all started researching the subject. Lauren's parents managed to track this book down, somehow and put me and Lauren in charge of translating it.

It wasn't easy. We'd been at it for a year, and we still had only scratched the surface. For one thing, it was handwritten in Russian. We had to teach ourselves the Russian alphabet and then try to learn the language. For another thing, the book was very old and worn. Some pages were so damaged that they could hardly be read anymore. Even the best pages caused headaches by the time we reached the bottom. And, as if all of that wasn't bad enough, the author often didn't come right out and say what he meant to say. There were some passages that were clear, concise, and literal. Others were steeped in metaphors and layers of deeper meanings. So, even once the text was translated into English, we often had to continue to puzzle out the meaning for several more hours. It was grueling work, but in the end, I recognized how valuable it was. We had learned a lot so far, and hopefully, we would be able to find a way to end the Cullens for good someday.

I sat down and began transcribing and then translating into my notebook. Lauren sat next to me, reading passages already translated and taking notes. After an hour, she offered to switch. Taking the book and my notes, she checked the work I had done so far. After another hour, we all decided to call it quits.

"Find anything good?" Ben asked me as I cleaned up.

I shook my head, "Not really. Then again, it's sometimes hard to tell. What about you?"

"There might be a connection to a nasty incident in a mental asylum a while ago. Like you said, it's hard to tell, but the reports line up with some of the Cullen trademarks."

I shuddered at the thought.

Lauren caught the group's attention. "We'll meet again tomorrow night. I know we don't usually research two days in a row, but I think we should try to get as much in as we possibly can."

We all agreed and parted ways for the night. I was exhausted by the time I got home. I didn't even have any dreams that night.


	4. 3 Small Battles

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

3, Small Battles

The rest of the week passed in much the same way. I continued to sit by Bella whenever possible. Lauren began to learn to tolerate the intrusion at our lunch table. Either that or she was planning such an elaborate and painful revenge against me that I would rather pretend it was option one. Bella sat alone during biology, and in gym class, we all learned that Bella was a disaster at sports. I couldn't tell if that was because she didn't bother trying or because she was actually that athletically impaired, but I had a feeling it was the latter; some of the accidents she caused were just too elaborate to be setups.

Edward continued to skip school. I wondered what business of his would take a week to conduct. After much debate, the general consensus of the group was that he'd probably left the country to meet with some of his old connections in Europe. Despite researching every night at the library,we still didn't find any new leads other than Ben's findings about the insane asylum. It looked like that was where the smallest female-Alice-had come from. She was a mental patient before being turned. I hated to think what an insane vampire might be capable of. The "sane" ones were bad enough.

Bella visibly relaxed every day that Edward was absent from school. I was hopeful that she might choose to stay away from him all on her own, but I knew the real test would be when he returned. There was also the small problem that Bella sat in close proximity to him in biology. If he managed to catch her gaze just once...

Ben,Tyler, Lauren, and I took a much needed break on Saturday. We spent the afternoon at Ben's house watching TV together. It was nice to do normal teenager activities for once. Of course, it couldn't last. Monday came all too soon.

My bad mood brought on by a pop quiz in English quickly dissipated when Bella and I stepped outside to find snowflakes drifting down.

"Wow, it's snowing," I said.

Beside me, Bella was eyeing the snow on the ground. "Ew."

"Don't you like snow?" I asked her.

"No. That means it's too cold for rain," she replied, rolling her eyes, "Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes-you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips."

I decided to let her first comment pass. I mean, with how much she hated rain, shouldn't snow still count as a step up even if it was colder? But that was just Bella logic. She thrived on being contrary from what I could see.

"Haven't you seen snow before?"

"Sure I have," she paused," on TV."

That comment actually made me laugh. It was cut short when a snowball hit me in the back of the head. Looking around I saw Eric trying to hurry away. I rushed to put together my own projectile. Bella hurriedly excused herself, clearly wanting to steer clear of the flying snow. I nodded as I took aim. I missed. Cursing, I moved on to my next class.

The rest of the morning was punctuated by impromptu snowball fights. I managed to get Eric back and after a good-natured chase that ended with him tackling me into the snow, we decided to plan a major snow battle to take place after school. We shook hands with mock seriousness before rushing off to build our teams and work on strategy.

I ran into Bella and Jessica almost as soon as I entered the cafeteria. Bella clutched a binder to her chest like a shield and had such a grim look on her face that I couldn't help chuckling. Jessica lost no time in getting my attention long enough to chatter to me about the snow. I had a feeling she had had a crush on me for some time. I still wasn't sure if I wanted to ask her out, but her open enthusiasm was nice to have around. At some point waiting in the food line, we realized that Bella was spacing out. Jessica tried to get her attention.

"What's with Bella?" I asked.

"Nothing. I'll just get a soda today," she answered quickly.

"Aren't you hungry?" Jessica asked her.

"Actually, I feel a little sick," Bella answered. After that, she cast her head down and refused to talk. She followed us meekly to the table.

As she sipped her soda, she glanced nervously in one direction from time to time. I soon realized that she was looking at the Cullens' table...and that Edward was indeed back.

"Bella, are you sure you're okay?" I asked, concerned.

"It's nothing," she insisted.

"Are you sure? I could take you to the nurse's office," I offered.

For a moment she looked tempted, but then she shook her head and looked away. Several minutes later, I heard Jessica teasing her about Edward Cullen. When I'd had as much of that as I could take, I asked them to join in the snow battle after school. Jessica happily agreed. Bella just looked more green.

By the time lunch was over, Bella looked like she was about to be marched to her execution. I was soon disappointed when we stepped outside to find rain washing away the snow.

"I can't believe this!" I complained, "Now Eric and I can't have our battle. What a waste of the first snowfall."

Bella didn't comment, but I could swear I saw a smug smile on her lips before she hid her face in the hood of her jacket. Of course she would be happy about this latest turn of events.

I barely had time to worry about Bella facing Cullen in biology before a microscope was placed in front of me on the lab table. Sarah and I exchanged an exasperated look. For some reason, neither of us found it easy to see what we were supposed to be looking for in the slides Mr. Banner gave us. I almost groaned aloud when he told us we couldn't use books.

Sarah patted me on the arm. "There, there. Maybe it won't be so bad this time."

I reached for the microscope and began to set it up for the first slide. "For some reason, I'm having a hard time believing that."

It wasn't so bad at first. We easily figured out the first few slides. Then, we got stuck. We couldn't seem to agree on which of two slides was metaphase and which was anaphase. We kept comparing the two, unable to make a decision. Before I knew it the class was over. Eager to find out how Bella made out, I almost skipped over to her table, making sure to pick up her books for her so she'd have to walk with me.

"That was awful. They all looked exactly the same. You're lucky you had Cullen for a partner," I began.

"I didn't have any trouble with it," she answered a little haughtily. She seemed to realize this fact too because she quickly added, "I've done the lab before, though."

"Cullen seemed friendly enough today," I probed. I had noticed that he was actually talking to her earlier.

"I wonder what was with him last Monday," she answered a little blankly.

I studied her face and kicked myself mentally. Her expression was slightly dazed. Cullen had cast a slight glamor on her. She must have looked directly into his eyes. Each time would only get easier for him now. If he kept it up, Cullen would be able to worm his way deep into her mind, influencing her thoughts and feelings. During gym, I helped cover Bella's position as well as my own during volleyball. She would be more disoriented than usual until the effects of the glamor wore off.

We didn't have a research session that night, but I called Lauren to go over everything we had found out so far about glamors.

"Let's see," she said. I could hear pages rustling, "vampires can cast glamors on humans, which can manipulate their minds. The weakest form are widespread glamors that will affect large groups. This is how they hide their unique appearances during the day. This ability is limited, though, and sunlight makes it even weaker."

"That's why the Cullens skip school on sunny days. They can't cast a strong enough glamor," I interrupted, "what do we have on more specific glamors?"

I heard more pages turning."If a person looks directly into a vampire's eyes, they can cast stronger glamors that will affect only that one person. The first time, the influence will still be weak, but after that, it strengthens each time and the vampire can cast a wider control over the victim."

"What about after effects and preventions?" I asked next.

"The victim will act distant and confused. This may linger even after the glamor has ended. In severe cases of prolonged exposure, a victim may become addicted to the vampire and may go insane or catatonic if the vampire abandons best prevention is not making direct eye contact. The usual charms wills also help, although they lose effectiveness if a person has been exposed to the glamors already. There's some more about purification after glamors, but we haven't gotten all of that worked out yet."

"Thanks, Lauren," I said.

"Mike," she hesitated,"you know, this might be a losing battle you're fighting. If Cullen has already gotten to her once..."

"I'm not giving up," I insisted.

She sighed. "I just want you to he prepared. In case it ends badly."

We ended our conversation and I went to bed mulling over what Lauren had said. I was determined for things to work out for the best. By the time the next day came, however, I found myself wishing that I had taken her words more seriously. I watched in horror as Tyler's van spun out of control towards Bella...and as Cullen flashed to her side to play the hero. There was a split second where he looked right at me and smirked, right before he pushed Bella out if the way and stopped the van.


	5. 4 Waiting Game

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

4. Waiting Game

I poked at my dinner, too distracted by my thoughts to feel hungry enough to eat. The last month had been tense for all of us. I couldn't help but think back on the day that started it all-the day of Tyler's accident.

When the dust finally settled that day, we all found ourselves in the hospital waiting room, hoping to hear good news that nobody was seriously injured. Several of the nurses threw our large group some nasty looks; it seemed like half of the school decided to take the excuse to miss class. I remembered seeing Bella's father, the police chief, looking hysterical. He kept asking to be let in to see Bella, but visitors weren't being allowed.

Ben, Lauren, and I all sat tensely. Tyler was somewhere in the hospital, and from what we saw of him as he was being carted away, he had quite a few bloody scratches on him.

"I don't like this," Lauren finally said.

Ben reached over and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "It'll be alright."

She glanced around to check for eavesdroppers. No one was paying attention to our conversation. "You know one of them works here. And don't forget, Edward is lurking around somewhere."

"It's a public hospital," I pointed out, "They can't try anything too daring here."

There was a sudden crescendo in the amount of excitement in the waiting room. We glanced up at the same time to see Bella walking briskly to her father. Several of us stood to try to get to her, but she smiled and waved us off. I sat back down.

"See, Lauren? Bella is fine, and Tyler will be out soon as well," Ben soothed.

She crossed her arms and grumbled. The crowd started to thin around us. Lauren became more restless as each minute ticked by. After Tyler still hadn't appeared after five minutes, she got up and marched over to a nurse. I couldn't hear their conversation but by the way Lauren was gesticulating, it looked like she was angrily demanding to see Tyler. The nurse shook her head vehemently. Lauren stomped back over to us.

"She wouldn't tell me anything!" she huffed, glaring around the room, "I'm going for a walk."

Ben and I watched her go, both of us sympathizing with her frustration. Ben glanced at me.

"We should follow her."

I nodded and stood. Together, we headed off in the same direction she had taken. After a few twists, the corridor led to a dead end. My stomach dropped when I saw the scene that waited for us.

Edward Cullen had Lauren pinned to the wall. As Ben and I watched in horror, he lowered his head to her neck. Lauren had her eyes closed, a terrified expression on her face. Yet, she wasn't struggling for some reason. As I watched Edward's tongue snake out to lick her neck, I willed myself to move, but before I could do anything, everything seemed to change.

As soon as Edward's tongue made contact with Lauren's skin, he howled and recoiled. She took the opportunity to knee him in the groin. Apparently, that move still worked on vampires because Edward fell to the floor, clutching himself in pain. He hissed up at Lauren as she advanced on him, making sure he saw the charm bracelet that jingled heavily with religious symbols of all kinds that hung from her right wrist.

"You bitch!" he forced out.

With her free hand, Lauren pulled a small knife out from her pocket and flicked it open. Carefully, she knelt before Edward. He tried lunging at her, but she managed to get the bracelet against his skin, causing more angry hissing.

"Help me hold him down!" she called to us without taking her eyes off the monster in front of her.

Ben and I rushed to her side and pinned Edward down, pulling out our own crucifixes. Lauren unbuttoned the top of his shirt, exposing his chest. With two quick strokes of the knife, she left a bloody cross over the place where his heart would be. Edward screamed profanities at us.

"Since I can't kill you yet, this will have to do," she snarled back at him, "until this wound heals, your powers will be reduced, leaving you a little more vulnerable. I'd guess you'll be out of commission for about a month."

Then, she placed the crucifix on her bracelet against the cuts. Edward jerked, his eyes rolling back as he fell unconscious. Lauren stood and brushed herself off. I noticed her starting to tremble. Ben and I hurriedly led her back to the waiting room. Just as we reached it, Tyler finally came out of the ward where they'd been treating him. He took one look at Lauren and rushed to her side.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Not here," I said.

We left the hospital and piled into my car. I decided that we would go back to Lauren's house; there wasn't much point in going to school at this point. We gathered around her living room. Tyler sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her.

"Tell me," he said, gently.

"Cullen," she spat out.

Tyler raised an eyebrow at Ben and me for elaboration. Ben explained how we found her cornered by Cullen. He told Tyler about Lauren gaining the upper hand and about how she had injured him by cutting a cross into him and touching the crucifix to it. Tyler looked angry but proud of Lauren by the end of the story. Lauren started to cry.

"Hey, it's alright now," he told her, "You got out of there in one piece and managed to hurt him. Good job trying the knife thing. I've wanted to do that to one ever since we found out about that one. I'm just confused about one thing..."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Why did he have that reaction to licking her neck?" Tyler asked the room in general. We all looked at Lauren for an answer. She actually managed to bark out a laugh.

"I've been putting holy water in my perfume," she said. We all looked at her, stunned.

"That's our girl!" Tyler exclaimed, "You're the best at vampire defense."

Lauren stiffened. "I wonder why that would be," she snapped before tearing away from him and going up the stairs. Tyler looked shocked.

"Go after her," Ben sighed, shaking his head, "Make her understand you weren't trying to remind her."

Tyler scrambled up the stairs after her. I felt bad for both of them. Tyler had simply been trying to compliment Lauren, but it only reminded her of a memory that had recently resurfaced after we started researching vampires. When she was younger, Lauren had been bitten. Ever since remembering those events, she's gone nuts putting together defensive charms. Hence the bracelet with every religious symbol she could find, the holy water perfume, the crucifixes placed around her room, and the notebooks filled with more ideas. I once saw her working on tattoo designs that might ward off vampires. I had a feeling she'd be putting those to use as soon as she could legally get them done on her own.

After that day, everyone could feel the tension. Lauren and Tyler were still not getting along. They barely talked. For some reason, Tyler decided it would be a good idea to make Lauren jealous by pretending to fawn over Bella. I had to admit, the plan had some merit. If she got annoyed enough at him for that, then she might at least start arguing with him again. Meanwhile, I was sticking closer to Bella than ever, even daring to taunt Edward by sitting on their lab table as I chatted with her before class. It seemed like he depended too much on glamors to influence Bella because while injured, he didn't even try to get closer to her on his own merits. Soon, however, he would be healed enough to make his next move, and I dreaded what it might be.

My thoughts were interrupted by the harsh ringing of the phone. My mom got up to answer it. She tapped me on the shoulder and held the cordless out to me.

"It's for you," she said, then mouthed "a girl."

I took the phone and retreated out of my parents' earshot.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mike! Um, it's Jessica," a nervous voice replied.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked her, surprised that it was Jessica.

There was an awkward pause. "Jessica?"

"Would you go to the dance with me?" she blurted out, "I mean, if you want to. It would be really fun, and it's girl's choice, so I thought..."

She babbled on while I tried to think of a way to answer. I'd known the dance was coming up, and I had been wondering if Bella would ask me, since I was one of her closest guy friends. I didn't think anyone else would ask me, although I now realized I should have known that Jessica would. There were still a few weeks before the dance, and I had no idea what Bella's plans might be.

I'd have to be as diplomatic as possible. "Jessica?" I interrupted her nervous monologue.

"Yes?" she squeaked.

"I, um," this was harder than I'd thought, "I need to think about it."

"Oh."

"It's not necessarily a no," I backpedaled.

"Yeah. Well. See you tomorrow."

Before I could say anything else, she hung up on me. I felt bad. Jessica sounded really dejected. To be honest, I wouldn't mind saying yes to her, but I wanted to make sure that I'd be available if Bella wanted to ask me. Edward would be at full strength soon, and I didn't want her to end up going to the dance with him.

The next day, I could tell that Jessica was avoiding me. I decided at lunch that I would have to take matters into my own hands and find out if Bella was going to ask me or not. Tyler was making plans of his own.

"It's perfect. I'll ask Bella to the dance while Lauren is watching. She really won't be able to ignore that," he announced gleefully.

Ben looked unsure. "Isn't the dance girl's choice?"

"So?" Tyler asked.

"What if Bella says she'll go with you?" I tried.

"She won't," Tyler shrugged, "She's annoyed by my constant apologies, which are all for Lauren's benefit anyway."

"Tyler, we all know that you've liked Lauren for a long time now. Why don't you just ask her out?" Ben asked with exasperation.

"Because she won't talk to me right now," Tyler answered, "And because she'd probably turn me down unless she thought it was her idea. Hence the plan."

I looked at him dubiously. "Ten bucks says it doesn't work."

"You're on," Tyler agreed.

Ben looked from one of us to the other. "You're both crazy."

I felt nervous on the way to Biology. Even though I wasn't romantically interested in Bella, I was still about to ask her out on a date. Worse, I was about to ask her out in front of Cullen, my arch-nemesis. Okay, I was getting overdramatic, but I was nervous.

I sat on the desk, trying to think of the best way to bring up the topic.

"So, Jessica asked me to the dance."

"That's great. You'll have a lot of fun with Jessica," she said enthusiastically.

"Well..." I studied her face. She seemed a little too enthusiastic for her normal self. Was she trying to hide the hurt that she couldn't ask me, or was she already glamored? Was I reading too far into it? "I told her I had to think about it."

"Why would you do that?" she snapped. Her disapproval seemed genuine.

I felt myself flush. "I was wondering if...well, if you might be planning to ask me," I hoped I didn't sound as pathetic to her as I did to my own ear.

"Mike, I think you should tell her yes."

My stomach dropped. "Did you already ask someone?" My eyes flashed toward Edward, who was smugly listening in on my humiliation.

"No, I'm not going to the dance at all," she informed me.

"Why not?" I asked, taken aback. For some reason, I honestly hadn't considered this option.

"I'm going to Seattle that Saturday," she answered.

Somehow, I had a feeling she was making that up. I tried to call her bluff. "Can't you go some other weekend?"

"Sorry, no," she said dismissively, "So you shouldn't make Jess wait any longer-it's rude."

"Yeah, you're right," I mumbled as I walked to my own seat. Sarah gave me a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

In gym class, I noticed that Bella was sporting all of the signs of a good glamor once more. It looked like Cullen had made a full recovery. I wondered if Tyler, Ben, and I would be able to corner him again. It would be satisfying to carve him up. After gym was over, I looked for Jessica in the parking lot. Surprisingly, she was walking with Lauren. I hurried over to them.

"Hi, Jessica," I greeted her. She tried not to make eye contact, so I continued onward, "I wanted to tell you that I'd love to go to the dance with you."

She looked up. "Really?"

I nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away. I, um, wasn't sure if I could afford it."

Lauren raised an eyebrow at my lame excuse, but Jessica didn't notice it at all. She squealed, hugged me, and ran off already muttering a list of things she'd need to do to get ready.

"Charming," Lauren commented.

"She's nice enough," I defended her.

Honking and shouts suddenly got our attention. Looking over, we saw a minor traffic jam caused by Cullen. The next two cars were Bella's and Tyler's. Tyler had gotten out and was leaning into Bella's window, talking to her.

Lauren's eyes narrowed. "What's he doing?"

I shrugged.

Tyler began to walk back to his car. "That's cool. We still have prom," he shouted over his shoulder.

Lauren practically growled beside me. "Oh no. He did not ask her out. He is not going out with anyone but me. Lousy rat."

She ran over to his car and jumped in the passenger's seat. I could see her practically yelling at Tyler. He looked at me with a huge grin on his face and mouthed "pay up." Damn. I couldn't believe his plan actually worked.


	6. 5 Blood

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

5. Blood

The next day, english was disrupted when Bella stumbled in late. The teacher told her off as she slumped almost bonelessly into a seat across the room from where she usually sat with me and Ben. Ben and I exchanged a significant look, but couldn't say anything in the middle of the class. As we walked to second period, I updated Bella on the status of the upcoming beach trip that was now taking place this coming weekend. She continued to act a little more off than usual.

At lunch, I noticed Cullen sitting at a table by himself. With a look and a gesture, he had Bella hurrying over to sit with him. I felt my anger rise as I watched him talking to her, staring into her eyes the whole time.

"We need to figure out something," Ben said what we were all thinking.

Lauren fidgeted in her seat. "I may have found something...but-"

"But we're definitely not going there," Tyler cut in.

Lauren opened her mouth to protest, but Tyler held up a hand. "If you really want to discuss this, we'll fill them in on it later. Besides, there are much more interesting things to talk about now, like how Mike owes me some money."

I groaned and handed Tyler a crumpled bill. He grinned excitedly. Ben raised an eyebrow.

"So, you two are going to the dance?" he asked.

Lauren smacked Tyler's arm. "That's what the bet was about?"

"Well, yeah," Tyler admitted.

Lauren rolled her eyes. "Jessica wants me to go dress shopping with her and a few other girls."

"Sounds like you'll have lots of fun," Ben commented, trying to keep a straight face.

The rest of lunch passed in friendly banter, although we all knew we were just trying to avoid the issue at hand. I pulled Tyler aside as we left the cafeteria.

"What is Lauren's idea?" I asked him.

He shifted uncomfortably. "It's complicated, but she thinks she can contact the vampire who bit her. She seems to think if she brings a rival vampire into the mix, Cullen and it might just take each other out. It's risky, though, and I can tell how terrified she is. She'd never admit it, but I worry about her."

I nodded. "Later. We'll talk more about this later."

Bella's faintness came to a head in biology. After the teacher demonstrated how to blood type using me as his example, Bella turned green and put her head down. I couldn't tell how much of it was squeamishness and how much of it was just side effects from Cullen. At any rate, Mr. Banner was soon asking for someone to take her to the nurse's office. I quickly volunteered and supported her out of the classroom. After a short way, Bella stopped walking.

"Just let me sit for a minute, please?" she practically begged.

I helped her lower herself to the ground.

"And whatever you do, keep your hand in your pocket," she muttered before slumping over to her side. So, there was some squeamishness in the mix after all.

"Wow, you're green, Bella," I commented. I was beginning to worry about her. Her eyes were now closed.

"Bella? What's wrong-is she hurt?" Cullen was suddenly, annoyingly there. Only now did I realize he hadn't been in biology. He must have found out about the blood typing somehow.

"I think she's fainted. I don't know what happened," I said, glaring at him accusingly. Then, for good measure, I told him, "She didn't even stick her finger."

"Bella, can you hear me?" Edward asked, his voice filled with command.

"No, go away," she said, flatly.

Edward chuckled darkly at her response.

"I was taking her to the nurse, but she wouldn't go any farther," I said. My tone made it clear that I held Edward's glamors responsible for this fact.

"I'll take her. You can go back to class," Edward said, trying to turn the same charm onto me now. But he'd never gotten into my head.

"No," I said firmly, "I'm supposed to do it."

The next thing I knew, Edward had lifted Bella up and was strolling away. He ignored both of our protests. I couldn't catch up to him, but I followed enough to see him enter the main office building where the nurse's office was also located. Bella would be safe enough, with other people around. I hoped. I hurried back to class.

A few minutes later, Lee Stephens was also looking sick, and I volunteered once more to take him to the nurse's office. As I supported Lee into the nurse's office, I heard Edward issue Bella another command.

"Go out to the office, Bella."

She was quick to obey. Edward followed her out. I helped Lee sit down and then I walked out into the main office myself. I glared at Edward before turning my eyes to Bella. She actually looked a little better. I told her as much.

"Just keep your hand in your pocket," she warned.

"It's not bleeding anymore. Are you going back to class?" I asked.

"Are you kidding? I'd just have to turn around and come back," she said. Something about the way she talked made it seem like she was Cullen's mouthpiece.

"Yeah, I guess...so are you going this weekend? To the beach?" I asked, looking toward Edward once more. I wondered if he'd "let" her go.

"Sure, I said I was in," she answered. Edward didn't look happy about that. I guessed he was still struggling for full control. That was a good sign.

I gave her the details for the meeting time and place, not liking that Cullen was getting that information as well. I realized that I had no other reason to stay. The secretary was starting to give me a sour look for standing around. Much though I hated it, I would have to leave Bella with Edward. I walked out of the office, my shoulders slumped.

That night, the library was more crowded than usual. The adults in our group joined us at my dad's insistence when I told him what I knew of Lauren's idea at dinner. Along with my parents, there were Lauren's parents, Tyler's parents and Ben's dad seated around the table. There were also a few miscellaneous adults from town who were in the know, and, most surprising of all, Billy Black from the indian reservation. While the elders of La Push knew about the Cullens, they rarely agreed to collaborate with us.

My dad called the group to order. A heavy silence fell.

"The Cullen situation is growing more serious by the day now," my dad said, "Our younger members have recently noticed that Edward Cullen has taken an interest in Isabella Swan, the police chief's daughter who moved here not long ago. Mike has told me that Cullen is quickly gaining the ability to control Bella."

Everyone looked at me now. I felt uncomfortable until my dad continued speaking.

"Something needs to be done; this is certain. And Lauren might have an idea. It is very risky, however, so we must all carefully consider this decision together. Lauren?"

Lauren was looking pale. Tyler squeezed her hand before releasing it as she stood. She swallowed nervously.

"Several years ago, I was bitten by a vampire," she stated. Murmurs rippled around the table. This hadn't been common knowledge to everyone present.

"When such an event takes place, a bond is formed between the vampire and the human. This bond becomes stronger the more times blood is taken, and the more times the vampire glamors the human."

Lauren looked around the table. Then, she squared her shoulders. "There is a ritual. It is meant for humans to contact their vampire masters when distances separate them. I can use this ritual to contact the monster that attacked me and-" she faltered for a moment, "call on his aid."

The table broke out in argument. Lauren's parents looked horrified. Billy Black was openly outraged and argued with Tyler's mom. It took several minutes for my dad to restore order.

"One question or comment at a time, please," he commanded.

Billy Black stood. "Why are you suggesting we ask another of those things for help?"

Lauren stepped forward. "I agree that vampires cannot be trusted. It scares me to think of facing my attacker again after all this time. However, if we can bring in a rival coven, then the two factions will either destroy each other entirely or one will remain, but significantly weakened. It may be our best chance."

"Why would this vampire want to help us, even if we did ask?" someone else asked.

"The blood bond works both ways. The humans are often driven into serving the vampires, but the vampires must also do what they can to protect the humans. Cullen openly attacked me recently. This and the chance to gain power by defeating another coven should be enough reason for action," Lauren explained.

Lauren's mother stood. "What is to stop this creature from possessing you completely, Lauren? You said, the bond could compel you to be his servant. I won't have you taken away from us."

"Mom," Lauren's voice sounded wavery, "He only drank from me once. The bond is very weak. As long as I don't give him any more blood or let him into my mind, I should be fine. As a matter of fact, the weakness of the bond means that it might not even be a sure thing that I could contact him. Which is why I think we may as well try."

The discussion ranged on for another hour. I began to tune most of it out. They were just going in circles now. Eventually, my dad called a vote. In favor, there was Lauren, Ben, Tyler, my parents, Lauren's dad, and me. Lauren's mom looked angry that her husband had raised his hand. It mattered little to the vote, however, as the majority was against it. Billy Black almost looked smug as his hand raised to shoot down the motion.

There was little else to do at that point. Everyone slowly filtered out of the room. Eventually, it was just us kids left. Tyler looked at Lauren.

"You're going to do it anyway, aren't you?"

"Of course," Lauren said, raising her chin defiantly.

Tyler raised his hands. "I'm not going to stop you. I'll help you. I'll be there for you because this will be very hard for you."

"We'll help too," Ben said, gesturing between himself and me. I nodded in acknowledgement.

That night, I had a nightmare. Bella stood alone at the edge of a lake. The moon was bright overhead. I called to her. She turned around, to reveal that the front of her was stained with rivulets of blood that dripped from her throat. Her eyes were glassy.

Suddenly, two great winged creatures rose out of the lake. They were fighting ferociously. Bella turned back to them, crying and reaching for one of them. The larger of the two ripped the wings off the smaller creature. The creature squealed in pain and plummeted into the lake, staining it red. It didn't rise again.

Bella laughed and reached toward the victor. It landed and resolved into the form of Edward Cullen. He opened his arms to Bella and she rushed into his embrace, trailing blood behind her. Cullen held her close. Then, he looked straight at me and gave that dark smile of his. I was frozen, helpless, forced to watch as he lowered his head to Bella's throat...and ripped it out with his teeth.


	7. 6 Beach Trip

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

6. Beach Trip

The memory of that nightmare clung to me the next day like an invisible veil. I couldn't shake the subdued feeling. Not even when I realized that Cullen was thankfully missing from school. I heard people talking about Bella's incident, making comments about her fainting. I wondered what it was like for them, not knowing the real danger.

At lunch, I learned that I wasn't the only one in a bad mood. Lauren kept shooting angry glances at Bella. My guess was that she was transferring her fear and frustration onto Bella, since we were only going through the ritual because of her. Ben did his best to try to get both of us out of our funks, bringing the conversation around to the next day's beach trip. I did my best to pretend to be enthusiastic.

While leaving the cafeteria, I decided to confront Lauren about her attitude.

"What's going on with you today?" I asked.

Lauren huffed. "I don't see why Bella doesn't just sit with the Cullens from now on," she sneered.

"She's my friend, she sits with us," I hissed back, "Come on. I think we both know what the real issue is."

For a moment, it looked like her lip trembled, but it soon passed. "Get bent."

She stormed off, purposefully bumping me as she did. I sighed. I didn't know what I had been expecting, really.

The next day found us all on First Beach in La Push. It had been a pleasant drive over, and the weather was about as nice as could be expected for the time of year. Currently, we were spread out around the fire pit, unpacking our supplies and setting everything up. Ben, Eric, and I started building the fire. I noticed Bella watching us.

"Have you ever seen a driftwood fire?" I asked her.

"No," she said, shaking her head.

"You'll like this then-watch the colors," I told her as I lit the carefully constructed pile of driftwood.

"It's blue," she said. Her face was lit up with wonder. It made her look younger, and for a moment, I felt like I could picture what she must have been like as a small child. Also for that moment, I thought it looked like all of the residue left from glamors lifted from her. I wouldn't call her beautiful, but there was something...intriguing about Bella in that instant.

"The salt does it. Pretty, isn't it?" I finished lighting the fire and sat down on the driftwood bench between Bella and Jessica. Bella seemed content to stare at the fire, while Jessica chatted excitedly to me. She was still pretty nervous around me, but she also seemed to be getting a little more comfortable.

After hiking to the tidal pools, we came back to find that some of the teens who lived on the reservation had come out to join us. After introductions, we all tore into the food we'd brought with us.

I noticed one of the oldest of the reservation teens-Sam Uley-was eyeing me warily. I remembered that he had a grandfather on the council of elders. He must know all about the current situation, and judging by his stony look, he wasn't any happier than Billy Black had been. It was all good for them; the Cullens had so far left the reservation alone. The elders believed this to be due to the Quillayute River which nearly surrounded the reservation. According to myths, vampires were unable to cross running water. So far, I hadn't read or seen anything that would prove or disprove this theory. Mostly, I suspected that they had been lucky so far, and that they really should do more to help the rest of us out as well.

My musings were interrupted when Jessica asked me if I wanted to visit the shop in town with her. I readily agreed and we made the short trek over. The shop was filled with handmade crafts of all kinds. Woven rugs hung from the walls, and the shelves were crowded with clay pots and wood carvings. A glass case near the counter held beaded jewelry. Jessica was instantly drawn to it. I took some time looking around at everything else before I joined her.

She was looking at a turquoise bracelet. I tilted my head to get a look at the price tag. Luckily, it was very reasonable.

"Do you want that one?: I asked, pointing.

"Um, yeah. It's so pretty," she answered shyly.

I got the attention of the woman behind the counter and pointed to the bracelet. I paid for it and turned around to see Jessica staring at me with huge eyes.

"Here," I said, taking her wrist and fastening the bracelet around it.

"You didn't-I mean I-" she stuttered.

I waved a hand. "It wasn't that expensive. And you can wear it to the dance. It suits you."

"Thank you," Jessica finally managed to say. We walked back to the beach. I noticed her looking at her wrist every so often.

Glancing around the fire, I noticed that Bella was missing. I tried to casually ask where she'd gone off to. I didn't like the idea that she was by herself somewhere.

"She left with that Jacob kid," Lauren scoffed. Tyler looked at me, silently apologizing for her continued bad mood.

The name Jacob seemed familiar. "Jacob Black?"

Lauren shrugged. "I guess. we were talking about the Cullens and Sam said how they didn't come here. A few minutes later, they walked off."

Jacob Black. I wasn't sure if he knew the truth about the Cullens, but he at least shared a house with his father, Billy. He must have overheard some things, and Quillayute legends were pretty wild as well...I began to worry about the ideas he could put into Bella's head.

"Which way did they go?" I asked.

Tyler pointed. "By the way, we're packing up. The weather looks like it might turn nasty."

I started off down the beach. I was vaguely aware of Jessica tagging along behind me. I found the two of them sitting on a driftwood log some way down the beach. No one else was in sight.

"There you are, Bella," I called, full of relief.

"Is that your boyfriend?" the boy-Jacob-asked.

"No, definitely not," Bella tried to whisper, but I could still hear her. It hurt slightly that she was so adamant about it. As if it would be such a terrible thing if I was her boyfriend.

"So, when I get my license..."

"You should come see me in Forks. We could hang out sometime," Bella told him.

"Where have you been?"I asked, having finally reached the driftwood tree. I looked from one of them to the other. From their conversation, they had been flirting. However, Bella was looking guilty for some reason. Something was off.

"Jacob was just telling me some local stories. It was very interesting," Bella offered.

"Well," I paused, wondering what those stories had entailed, "We're packing up-it looks like it's going to rain soon."

"Okay. I'm coming," Bella said.

As we walked back, I could hear her saying goodbye to Jacob. He sounded eager to see her again, but I couldn't say the same for Bella. I wondered what her motives had been for taking Jacob aside in the first place. I began to worry that Jacob might have let the truth slip, even if he didn't realize it, when Bella kept to herself on the drive home. From what I could see of her in the rearview mirror, she was deep in thought about something. If she didn't know about the Cullens now, my guess was that she would have it worked out in a few days.

As I thought about it, I realized it could be a good thing. Surely, Bella would stay away from Cullen once she knew the truth. Maybe I should approach her in the coming week to see how she was coping with everything and to provide her with whatever additional information I could.

That night, I had another nightmare. It was similar to the first, except that the Cullen creature was fighting a giant wolf. When the wolf fell to the ground in a bloody mess, it turned into the form of Jacob Black. The Cullen creature fell to ripping strips of flesh from Jacob's body and snapping them up hungrily. Jacob wasn't quite dead yet, and he screamed in horrible agony.

The creature stopped only when Bella cried out in frustration and stomped her foot at it. It turned back into Cullen and walked over to her. This time, he kissed her deeply and the blood covering both of them mingled until you couldn't tell where it came from. The kiss became more intense until I realized that Cullen was literally eating her face.

I woke up in a cold sweat. The horrible images still flashing through my mind. I wasn't sure how I would fall asleep again. I lay back on my pillows, staring at the ceiling.

"One thing's for sure," I muttered to myself, "If Jacob turns out to be a werewolf, then I want to quit. One type of monster is more than enough."


End file.
